Sonic: The Runaway
by Tsukina Kinamoto
Summary: Takes place right after issue 138 in the comics. Sally does something to upset Sonic, and he ends up running away. What happends to him while he's away from home? Will he ever return?


Sonic: the Runaway

'Then he can have you all to himself!' 'I should've known you'd be selfish!' 'Do you know what it was like believing you were dead?' Princess Sally's harsh words echoed through his head, even with the loud rock music of his favorite band blaring in his ears. Linkin Park's "Pushing Me Away". Sonic curled up as much as the sling would let him. He held his head and paid attention to his music for a moment. "The sacrifice of hiding in a lie. The sacrifice is never knowing why I never walked away. Why I played myself this way. Now I see, your testing me pushes me away…" _What if… Sally's 'I'? What if I'm 'I'?_ he finally got off of his bed and looked outside. It was dark. His digital clock said 12 o'clock. He walked over and changed the music to "One Step Closer." "I cannot take this anymore. Sayin' everything I've said before. All these words they make no sense. I found bliss in ignorance. Less I hear the less you'll say…"

He clenched his hands and grit his teeth. _I can't take it anymore. I know I just got back, but…_ He growled and grabbed his backpack. In it he put a flashlight, an extra pair of socks, a watch, all the money from his piggy bank, all the food in his room, and his boom box. He put his shoes on and tied the sheets together, and threw them out the window. Lastly he left his sling on his bed. He had injured his shoulder fighting another one of Eggman's creations and was supposed to wear it and apply some herbal medicine to the burn. He wasn't going to.

He crawled out the window and raced silently out of the city. He reached the top of a hill when he turned on his boom box and waved to the city. He raced down the hill. "Graffiti decorations under a sky of dust. A constant wave of tension on top of broken trust. The lessons that you taught me, I learned were never true. Now I find myself in question. (They point the finger at me again) guilty by association (You point the finger at me again) I wanna run away, and never say goodbye. I wanna know the truth, instead of wondering why. I wanna know the answers, no more lies! I wanna shut the door, and open up my mind."

That morning, the residents of Knothole were waking up, and Sonic's mom was noticing her son was gone. She screamed and panicked. her husband and brother-in-law came to see what was wrong. All they found was his sling, a note for Sally, and a sheet-rope.

Sally got dressed as fast as she could. then ran to Sonic's house. _Dad's right. I was the one being selfish, not Sonic. I need to apologize._ When she reached the door, she knocked. Charles looked out the window. "Sally! Uh… come… come in." She opened the door and walked to Sonic's room. Mrs. Hedgehog was on the bed crying into Sonic's sling. Charles started speaking. " We… uh… think… Sonic has…" "HE'S RUNAWAY! WASN'T I A GOOD MOTHER? HE GETS TOSSED INTO SPACE FOR A YEAR, STAYS FOR FIFTEEN HOURS, THEN LEAVES AGAIN!" Mrs. Hedgehog finished for him before running out of the room. Sally gasped and stood in shock. Then Charles turned to Sally and said "here." and handed her a CD that read 'Give this to Sally.' Sally ran home and ignored her dad when he asked "Did you apologize?" She put the CD into her player and read the letter:

Sal,

I left you the second song because I am angry. I know I'll regret it later, but right now the thought of your guilt or happiness about this covers up my own embarrassment.

Then she slowly processed the words she caught in the song, "The End." 'Time… out the window… watch you go… I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter. I had to fall to lose it all, but in the end, it doesn't even matter… doesn't even matter how hard you try… mocking me… I've put my trust in you, pushed as far as I can go. And for all this there's only one thing you should know… I tried so hard and got so far, but in the end, it doesn't even matter. I had to fall to lose it all, but in the end, it doesn't even matter." _Isn't… it is. Sonic is singing._ "Sally!" Sally's mom walked by and turned the music off. "NO!" she said and struggled over to turn it back on. Tears poured from her eyes.

"Sally Acorn!"

"Sonic gave it to me!"

"Leave it to him… I don't want you to listen to that stuff, okay?"

"No! Not okay! Its all I… I've got left."

"What are you talking…"

"HE RAN AWAY AND ITS ALL MY FAULT!" She started sobbing. Her mother calmed her down.

Sonic awoke with a figure hovering over him. "Gyaaaa!" he sat up straight up fast. It giggled "Are you a runaway, too?" Sonic looked behind him. She was a purple hedgehog with long bangs. She wore white shoes, blue jeans, a thin brown belt with a sword, a white tank-top, and had a dark purple long sweater hanging from her shoulders. Sonic stood up and brushed himself off. "Huh? Oh… yeah. I'm Sonic." he said.

"Tsuki. You change yet?"

"What?"

"Runaways are supposed to change their wardrobe when they leave the past."

"Oh. No, I haven't. I always wear this." He picked up his backpack.

"Then hurry up. If we go now, we can make it to Sunnydale before dark." Sonic raced in front of her, and she looked at his blue back. "Get on." He said. She couldn't pass up a free ride, so she obeyed. "Witch way? He asked. "That way." She said and pointed east. Sonic turned on his boom box and Runaway came on. He started running.

When they reached Sunnydale , an hour had passed. "This it?" He asked. "Yep. c'mon" She showed him to an old house. It was busted and looked ready to cave in. She showed him to an underground area that looked better. "The house is cover." Tsuki said. She got stuff out of a closet and threw it at Sonic. He tried on many things before he found what he liked. Black gloves, black shoes, and a thick brown belt that slipped off one of his hips. "Cool." he said. "But my old shoes are made from a material my uncle made so they wouldn't BAR-B-Q when I ran." "Hmmm…" She said. Then picked up one. "Let's go."

She took him to a shoe store. "Take your shoes off." She commanded Sonic. He obeyed. She turned to the clerk. "Can you make the only difference in these be the color?" she asked. The duck nodded. Sonic and Tsuki sat in the front of the shop for a few hours listening to "Runaway" over and over again. It had become their theme song. When Sonic's shoes were done, Tsuki paid the clerk and they went outside to try them out. "Work like a charm!" He exclaimed. "Good." She said. They sat on a bench in a park and talked. "The rules of being a runaway." Tsuki said. "One: get rid of as many things from the past as you can. Two: never tell anyone about your past- even if they ask. Three: master something. I mastered Swordsmanship." "Then I'll master martial arts. I actually already know how to fight." he said.

"Good. Remember rule two, and you'll be fine."

"Are you traveling with anyone?"

"No."

"Can I travel with you?" An alarm went off. "What the…?"

"Robotnic's bots!" She started running. Sonic came along and picked her up.

A few seconds later, They were in front of the robot hoard. Tsuki stood on Sonic's shoulders, then jumped off and took out five bots in one swing. Sonic curled into a ball and they ended up on two sides of the battlefield. Sonic kicked and punched until they exploded, and Tsuki slashed and smacked and moved on. Five bots knocked Sonic over and pinned him down. The fifth one held his head. A sixth one carved an 'R' on his left cheek. His nerves screamed, and every second felt like fire. He wanted to pass out from the pain. He started screaming from it. Tsuki hacked at their heads. The bots retreated. Sonic curled up and tears came to his eyes. He held his cheek, and Tsuki started talking to him. "It's okay. I know, it hurts. Lemme see it." He didn't move. She picked him up and tried as best as she could to get him to the hospital.

Sonic woke up in a hospital bed lying on his stomach. He could see Tsuki beside him. His cheek and shoulder burned. "If your shoulder hurts," Tsuki began in a low voice, "its because the wound on it was starting to become infected. You were supposed to put salve on it, right?" "Yeah, but how'd you know?" he asked.

"Doctor told me."

"Oh. How's my cheek doin'?"

"It's gonna be a scar." He bared his teeth at the thought. _Great. I'm a livin' ad for my worst enemy. _

"Sure."

"Huh?"

"Yes, You may travel with me."

Sonic smiled.

Sonic got out of the hospital after a week, mostly because the infection. That was going to scar, too.

Next they headed to Waterfall city. Sonic learned how to swim. Then, at Royal city ,they defended against more robots. Two robots eventually grabbed both of them and tried to roboticize them. That's all they remember.

Sonic opened his eyes then sat up. He felt strangely heavy. Tsuki was sleeping beside him, and they were surrounded by doctors and monitors. "Uhhh… Hi?" Sonic said, wondering if he should talk. They all looked at him, and all but one left. Sonic reached behind his head to scratch, and he felt a patch or something. "What on Mobius?" he asked. The doctor started to speak when Tsuki woke up and did the same thing. "Those Robots attempted to roboticize you, and they succeeded in roboticzing your bones, and a part of your brain." "WHAT?" They said together.

"Don't worry. We've restored what we could. But, nevertheless, you may have to re-learn some things."

"Okay…" After a few hours, they finally got to leave. They started asking each other questions. Sonic needed to re-teach Tsuki how to count and swim. Tsuki needed to re-teach Sonic how to read and write. That took up two months.

Then they received word Knothole was going to be under siege in three days. Sonic didn't even remember that Knothole was his hometown, but he and Tsuki had decided to help any city they heard needed it. So Sonic carried Tsuki all the way to Knothole. He rushed past the guards and right up to Castle Acorn. "Hey! Open up!" He shouted. "What is your name?" the guard asked.

"Sonic Hedgehog!" The guards started talking. The bridge dropped and they sped across.

"Sonic!" Sally screamed in excitement. "You're back!" "Yeah! And you are…?" Sonic asked.

"Sonic! You don't remember me? You were only gone four months!"

"Sorry…" "Read." Tsuki told Sonic. A sign hung above the throne.

"P-p-prin-princess Sal- Sally."

"Who- are you?" Sally asked.

"I'm Sonic the Hedgehog! Anyway, we came to warn you about the attack that's coming."

"By _who?_" She asked. "while you were gone, we defeated Robotnic." upon hearing that name, Sonic growled and punched the floor. It cracked the same way it would for Knuckles. Sally gasped and said "Y-you're not my Sonic!" She ran off.

Tsuki and Sonic arrived at a house with Sonic's last name on it. They knocked, and Mrs. Hedgehog answered it. "SONIC! My baby's come home!" she hugged him. "Ow owowow!" Sonic said in a little pain. She was squeezing him harder. "Sonic's back!" She called inside. "Good thing you came today of all days! Today's one of the days we all get together to find you!" "Okay… I'm going to assume _you're_ my mother." She pulled him inside. Tails, Knuckles, the chaotix, Sonic's father and uncle, and Amy Rose and Mina were all huddling around him. "Hi?" he asked. "Hi! I'm Tsuki," Smiled Tsuki.

"Sonny-boy! Introduce us to your friend!" "This is Tsuki. Tsuki, uhhh…"

"Need to re-learn some names, Sonic?"

"Hehe. Yeah." "Oh no!" his mother screeched. They all picked them up and carried them to knothole hospital.

Dr. Quack came over with some equipment and sat Tsuki and Sonic down. "Great. More doctors." they said together. "Either my equipment's wrong, or you ran into a roboticizer." "Nope. They're correct. Sonic, you're bleeding again." "Really? Whatever." "HE'S BLEEDING? MY POOR BABY!" Sonic's mother screeched. "No, not whatever. Remember last time…" Tsuki began. "Alright! Alright already! Sheesh!" Sonic interrupted. He took his salves and cloths. "Might as well do my shoulder too." he spread the salve on the cloths. Then handed one to Tsuki. He put one on his bleeding cheek and Tsuki put the other one on his shoulder. "Pop quiz." Tsuki said. Quack stared surprised, at the quiz and that some girl was taking care of him.

"Now?" he asked. "Yeah, now." She turned his chair around the room asking him to read simple words. "X-ray. Glo-gloves. Ant- ti-dots- antidotes! Uhhh… what's d r mean?" Sonic asked. "Doctor." Tsuki answered.

"Doctor Quack."

"Very good!" she smiled.

"Your turn. How many questions did you ask me?" She sat in thought for a moment.

"Thirty?'

"Close."

"Twenty!"

"Great! I'm sleepin' now I'm tired."

"Okay." She looked at Quack. "'S your problem?" "What- Why…" He stammered.

"We had our bones and a part of our brains roboticzed. He's gotta learn how to read and write again, and I forgot how to count. And swim, but I re-learned that already."

"Ah. I see. I'm sorry. So you're both actually here traveling?"

"No. We came to warn you of an attack. If we would have known this was Sonic's hometown, we never woulda came."

"An attack by whom? And why wouldn't you've come back?"

"Sonic's a runaway, like me. We run around, help towns and cities, become better friends, have fun, learn things, get in trouble, get hurt, get angry, move on, yadda, yadda, yadda. And you're gonna be under attack by…" She paused and checked to make sure Sonic was asleep. "Botnicro-ay," she whispered.

"Robotnic?" Quack asked. Just then Sonic's eyes snapped open and he punched a hole in his chair. He was shaking. "Sonic. It's okay, he's not here. Go back to sleep. Don't…" Sonic curled up an held his cheek. His back was to Tsuki. His cheek was still bleeding. Tsuki held her knees against her chest and started crying. I _could have prevented it. I could have saved him. I could have… I should have…_ Quack left the room.

The pair remained silent even as Quack explained everything Tsuki had told him about the up-coming attack. "Has that scar made you like Antoine, Sonic?" the king asked, pointing to the coyote that stood by his throne in the same manner that Sonic was. "No, sir."

"Are you sure? Sally tells me you also made this hole in my floor."

"I am sure, sir. And I apologize for the floor. I'll fix it."

"You're acting like him." the king asked, hating to be lied too. "You're not in denial?" "Tch! Sonic in denial will be the day I win against him in a race!" Tsuki blurted out. "Yeah, like _that_ would ever happen." he said and smiled. "Karaoke tonight? I feel like dancing." Tsuki said. Sonic reached his leg up and kicked his backpack behind him. Their theme song came on. He started to sing. Tsuki started to dance. They stood attentive behind Quack again. "Oops. Sorry. My bad. Forgot. I'll be leaving now." Sonic said. "Me too! Sorry!" They headed for the exit. "No, its alright. Same Sonic, besides the strength. Heh." the king said. They stood behind Quack again. "Sonic, please go to Sally's room. She would be pleased to see you." "Somehow, I doubt that." Sonic responded.

"Why?"

"If she's that girl from earlier, she'd probably slap me or something." "Yeah, she was pretty mad."

"Well, I'll have Roter escort you there." The king offered. "I want him to be a witness, unless this girl…"

"She's not my girlfriend."

"Okay then. Roter?" The large purple walrus cane out and hugged Sonic, grabbing his shoulder. "Hey, pal!" he exclaimed. "Aaaaaaaaaah!" Sonic yelled, causing Roter to drop him. He fell to the floor and hunched over in pain, trying to ease the pain and breathing heavily. Tsuki kneeled beside him. "Are you okay?" "Yeah." He stood up, rubbing the unscarred part of his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Sonic! Are you okay?" Roter asked. "Uh-huh. I'm fine_." I don't usually lie, but I can't worry anyone… _"Sonic, your shoulder's bleeding. Roter, you've got blood on you're hands." Quack pointed out. He handed Roter a cloth to clean himself up, and Tsuki used a rag from Sonic's backpack, witch she now had to hold. She put it on his shoulder again. "More revenge?" she asked him. "Probably." he answered. He grit his teeth then sat down. "Ya know, I'd be worried if I didn't know you didn't need much blood." Sonic stayed silent. _His scar hurts again… I SHOULD"VE SAVED HIM! I'M SO STUPID! _

Sally walked in and saw Sonic on the floor. She was listening to the CD he had given her. "Sonic!" She cried and ran over to him. He looked up and she saw it was the hedgehog from earlier. "Oh, it's _you_. Never mind. She said. "Sally, believe it or not, this is Sonic." Quack then explained everything else Tsuki had told him.

"So, you are… Sonic?" she asked. Her father nodded, surprised at the memory loss. "Oh, Sonic!" She hugged him and scraped his shoulder and rubbed against his cheek. But he refrained from screaming. There was something familiar… he _liked _being with this girl… He grit his teeth and clenched his fists. He started crying. But did nothing to get her to move.

She withdrew, thinking he still didn't remember. _Why… me?_ Sonic thought to himself. _I… don't… know why…_ He looked up and saw her covered in his blood. _She deserves better than me…_ "I'm… going to relax." he told Tsuki. "Don't let the algae kill ya." She said. He raced out. "Algae?" everyone asked.

"Yeah, that stuff you find in water. He's going swimming."

"WHAT? He'll drown!" Sally panicked.

"Wait!" Sally was already gone. "He learned how to swim back in Waterfall." She answered the question nobody dared ask.

Sonic was getting ready to jump into the power ring pool with "With You" playing and without his belt. "It's true the way I feel what's promised by your face. The sound of your voice painted on my memories. Even if you're not with me, I'm with you…" He jumped in. Sally, still covered in the hedgehog's blood, came screaming "NO! DON'T DO IT SONIC! NOOOOOOOO! SONIC!" She jumped in after him. They were both startled by each other. Sally grabbed him and tried to pull him up, and scraped his shoulder again. The water started to turn red. The guard panicked and called for help. Sonic went limp when he realized Sally was trying to pull him up.

When they reached the surface, they swam to the edge, coughing. "Are you crazy?" Sally asked him. He didn't look at her and put his belt on. Then picked up his boom box. He stood while she talked to his back. "Really, Sonic! Are you _trying_ to get yourself killed?" He stood there. _She's too good to even see me, much less hear me speak._ He turned on "Runaway" and let it carry away his thoughts. When it got to the chorus, Sally ran over and turned it off. She grabbed his head and forced him to look at her face. The incident flashed by his eyes. "N-NOO!" He yelled and stepped away from her grip. "NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! NO NO NO NO NO…" He bent over and held his head. Tsuki and everyone else was running over as a result as a cry from the guard. Sonic sat on his knees and shook his head. "No no no no no no…" he whispered. "Sonic! Are you okay?" Tsuki asked. "What'd you do?" she asked Sally. "I wanted him to look me in the face, so I…" "YOU GRABBED HIS HEAD? I SWEAR, SONIC! YOU GET WAY TOO DAMN EMOTIONAL! _Calm down Tsuki. Think._" '_Rule two.' 'What?' 'You're breaking it by telling me about this Sally person.' 'I wanna dwell on the past a little 'til I adjust to this life.' _"That's it! Sonic…" Tsuki crouched by Sonic. "Tell me about Sally." Sally gasped and wondered how that would help. Sonic muttered for twenty seconds then collapsed. "Why…" Sally asked the question on everyone's mind. "Back in Sunnydale, He started to tell me about someone named Sally. Then he fell asleep. That was before we were partially roboticized." She stared stroking his head.

Sally decided to sleep over at Sonic's house that night. "Tsuki?" she asked. "What?" Tsuki responded, watching Sonic toss and turn on his bed.

"Tell me the story."

"What?"

"Tell me the story, your story, from when you and Sonic met, to when he got his…"

"Scar?"

"Yeah."

"Well, when I met Sonic, he was sleeping in a desert area. Probably the day after he had runaway. I scared him…" Tsuki told the story up to the beginning of the battle. She paused for a minute before finally saying "Sorry. You don't wanna hear the next part."

"Yes, I do."

"No, you don't."

"If I say I wanna hear it, then I wanna hear it."

"Fine. I was fighting 'bots when I heard Sonic screaming. I took out all the 'bots, and realized they had used a laser on him. I didn't know what they wrote until he finally passed out." She looked at Sally, who had her eyes closed. But she wasn't crying. She appeared asleep, so Tsuki added "Woulda broken your heart to see him…"

"So, why does he keep bleeding?"

"That's what I keep wondering… Its probably late. Let's hit the hay."

"Okay. So the plan is Antoine guards the king, Tsuki guards the queen, and Sonic protects the princess. And in the front lines…" Roter described the plan he and Sally concocted together. "Hold it! Sonic and I would be most helpful in the front lines." Tsuki pointed out. "No! when Sonic was helping us defeat Robotnic, he was _always_ in the front lines! I want him to be safe with me!" Sally blurted out.

"Sally, he's a runaway, now. _I_ shouldn't even be telling him what to do." "I'll go to the front lines." Sonic said abruptly. "THERE YOU GO BEING SELFISH AGAIN!" Sally exploded and slapped him. His head jerked to the side, but he shook it off and looked ahead again. So she slapped him again, and his scar started to bleed. But his head jerked to the side again. Tsuki wanted to tell her to stop, but she was tired of saving him from this girl. Sally slapped him again and again. Sonic finally raised his hand and caught her by the wrist. "I would appreciate it if you would stop that." he said calmly. She raised her foot and attempted to kick him in the leg, but he picked up his foot and blocked her kick. She tried to slap him again when he released her wrist. He caught it again. He looked her in the eyes and said "Not this time, you don't." _This… time?_ Sally thought. "So… do you… remember?"

"Vaguely." he responded, with a look and tone that said 'don't try anything.' Sally smiled and said "Well, that's a start." Sonic raised an eyebrow, then turned around and walked away.

The day of the battle finally arrived. Sonic and Tsuki led the attack. Oddly enough, Tsuki carried a guitar as a weapon. "I bet we could beat 'em all before the song's over." Sonic said. "We'll probably be out of breath, but this song's practically our theme." Tsuki smiled. She started playing "Runaway" at the first sight of a robot.

That was the signal. Both sides charged, Tsuki bashing 'bots with a guitar, (and still playing it) and Sonic singing. "…Paper bags and angry voices under a sky of dust. Another wave of tension, has more than filled me up. All my talk of taking action, these words were never true… I'm gonna runaway, and never say GOODBYE! (Gonna runaway, gonna runaway! Gonna runaway, gonna runway!) I'm gonna runaway, and never wonder WHY! (Gonna runaway, gonna runway! Gonna runaway, gonna runway!) I'm gonna run away, and open up my MIND…"

"Told ya, ro_butt_nick! Haha!" Sonic taunted when the fight was over. "Tsuki, you okay?" Sonic asked. "Tsuki?" "S- Son- ic." Tsuki groaned.

"TSUKI!" Sonic rushed over and picked her up.

"Will she be okay?" Sonic inquired, worried. "She should be fine, but she bruised her side, cracked a rib at most. Dr. Tracy is bandaging it now. "Alright," Tracy said when he came out, "she can go to your house now, or she can stay here." "I'll take her home." Sonic replied, then grabbed her and rushed home.

It was about midnight when Tsuki woke up. "How ya feelin'?" Sonic asked when he saw she was awake. "Huh? Better, I guess."

"Something wrong?"

"We've done our jobs. We should be leaving soon."

"But your rib-"

"It'll be okay." There was a long, awkward pause.

"I don't want to leave."

"What?"

"I want to stay… with Sally. I don't want to leave her…" Another silence came over them.

"Okay. You stay. I've been thinking… I wanna be a Drifter." A drifter was similar to a runaway, except drifters help anyone and everyone they want, even if its in their hometown.

"You sure?"

"Uh-huh." another short pause held them.

"Okay. Here." Sonic handed her his backpack. "Take it and everything inside."

"Sonic… are you sure? Your boom box is in here still."

"Take it. I don't want you to forget me."

"How could I forget _you_?" She asked and smiled at him. They hugged each other. "Ummm… there is something I would like to give you…" Tsuki hesitated a little bit before giving Sonic a kiss on the left cheek. He blushed. "I'll always be with you." she whispered.

"Good luck. Play "With You" tomorrow at lunch, we can be together that way." Sonic told her.

"Alright." They made another rope out of sheets and tossed it out the window. Tsuki, then Sonic, crawled out it. They ran to the edge of Knothole, the same direction Sonic had. Sonic stopped at the edge of the city, but Tsuki kept running, Sonic's backpack bouncing on her back. When she reached the top of the hill, she turned on "Runaway," Waved to Sonic the same way he had to the city when he was running away, and ran down the other side. Sonic waved back to her, and when she went over the hill, he wiped the tears from his eyes, and held his left cheek on his way back home.

In The End, it _does_ matter.

Got a good imagination? So good you can turn novels into movies for your brain? Then read the 'credits' and pretend "runaway" is playing and scroll down very, very _slowly_.

Written by: Tsukina Kinamoto

Illustrations by: You, I guess.

Inspired by: Linkin Park and Archie comics.

Sonic the hedgehog, Princess Sally Acorn, Dr. Quack, the hedgehog family, Antoine, King Acorn, Queen Acorn, Tails, Knuckles, Mina, Amy Rose and Robotnic all belong to Sega and Archie Comics.

Tsuki belongs to me and only me! Make your own fan characters!

Thanks to Sega for creating my favorite hedgehog, Linkin Park for writing great songs, and Yuki for always supporting me. Thank you so much!


End file.
